Life in the Fast Lane
by emjoelle
Summary: This is a companion Fic to my story A Question of Becoming. These are snap shots in the life of my characters that dont necessarily push the plot of it forward but shed insight into some of the events.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Dust in the Wind

**A/N these chapters will be snapshots of Nightshades life that do not drive the plot of ****A Question of Becoming****. They won't necessarily be in chronological order. Just the order in which they come to me. This takes place a couple of weeks after Nightshade joined the Cons and after chapter 6 of ****Question.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers. Nighshade is mine though. **

**After a long week on the Nemesis, Nightshade gets her sporty alt and Knockout opens up in an attempt to get Nightshade to do the gets her sporty mode**

A couple cycles had passed and Nightshade was adjusting to her new military life. Megatron insisted she not be weak and had her train with various mechs. The last few days had been especially challenging. Emotions and tensions were running high with various crew members and Nightshade was taking it out on everyone she could. She ran the gambit of emotions. Truth be told, if you could actually get Deceptions to do that, it was just as bad for Knockout too. They had yet another crew member, this one with the distinction of lab rat.

The emotional high started when Knockout found Breakdown's corrupted signal and hoped to see the impossible only to discover it was a parasitic Cylas using his body. Cylas hoped to be like the cybertronians, godlike, as he put it. He made the mistake of failing and ended up as Knockout's case study, an experiment with synthetic energon. Though he wouldn't ever admit it, it would be weakness to do so; it brought back feelings of grief in Knockout again. Knockout had a history of taking his frustrations out on others.

Seeing a member of M.E.C.H. had a similar effect on Nightshade. Her anger brought out abilities she didn't know she had despite her training. He never touched her but Cylas knew about her and his words stung. He made comments that she was no different from him. A being in another's body, out of place, not any more Cybertronian than he was, an imposter and, she was really a failed experiment and that her change wouldn't last. In her fury she had hit him. Hard! Hard enough to damage her own servo.

This made Knockout even more curious about her. He had no clue what it meant. He had examined her himself. She was perfectly Cybertronian. He was determined to get answers in a nontraditional way, without hurting her. Megatron forbid it and besides, in spite of his best efforts not to get close to another after Breakdown, Knockout was starting to genuinely like Nightshade. She was clever, sarcastic, and almost as good looking as he was.

The opportunity to get away and hopefully get answers came when Soundwave located a possible energon mine and Knockout and Nightshade having land modes were sent to investigate. They took a ground bridge to a location a several miles away from the coordinates just in case the Autobots had picked up on it Knockout took off full speed. "Come on, Nightshade what is taking you so long. I'm sure you can go faster than that. Speed feels wonderful! I need actual competition in a street race. Human's reflexes are far too slow. You're not much better in that form. I could do circles around you." He laughed. "I don't think these were designed for speed. Durability yes however they don't allow for the acceleration of luxury sports cars. It was better than nothing. I was actually trying to blend in with my choice and not be flashy. How many humans actually drive Aston Martins in Jasper?" She replied. "Oh come on. You can be fast and attractive without being flashy, as you call it. And yes, I am the only one. That was intentional. You don't have to pick a foreign model. Also, nothing wrong with running if you don't want to fight and run the risk of ruining your finish or off lining."

Just off the interstate there was a small dealership. Knockout convinced Nightshade to pull off just for a nanoclick to see if anything fast but practical caught her optic. After riding down several rows Knockout spotted a corvette. "That would work perfectly. It is sporty faster than your current alt, and nice looking." Nightshade transformed and scanned it. She felt her armor shift to accommodate her new form. It made her shiver. She still wasn't used to the feeling of her parts sliding around. Even though it had been weeks she still wasn't used to the sensation of collapsing into her vehicular mode and having her center of gravity change when she transformed back. She didn't think she ever would. "See," Knockout told her. "Now aren't you glad I fixed that incis…cut so that it wouldn't leave a noticeable scar. It would be obvious now. Come on transform and try it out. Let's race to those coordinates. We have a job to do"

Knockout arrived at the designated spot moments before Nightshade and realized they had found a fortune in energon and that they were alone. Knockout commed Megatron and informed him of their find. He reiterated the need to work quickly and to bring as much as they could carry. They loaded up and headed back toward the Nemesis without incident. Knockout decided that the trip back would be slower. They could race again later. He wanted to try to get answers. Diving right in wouldn't work. He saw how she reacted to Cylas and didn't want to anger her. Lead by example, Knockout. You're sly. He thought. He'd bring up his thoughts on the last week and see if she would take the bait and spill her innards as the humans saying goes

It turns out he wasn't alone in that train of thought. Nightshade had noticed the way Knockout acted to Cylas's arrival and she was naturally curious. "Knockout," she finally said aloud grabbing the red mech's attention, "I know you said you had a loss at M.E.C.H's hands. I assumed it was to you but I saw the way you reacted when that parasite came on board in Breakdown's body. If I may ask, what happened? Hit wasn't to you directly was it? Clearly it was something they did to him. Right? You were close?' She asked as she tried to piece together the snobbish mech's history. He was of course ok to play along.

"Nightshade, it is unwise to get too close to anyone during a war. Lord Megatron frowns upon it. He believes it is a distraction and requires the only commitment a Decepticon should have is to the cause, and well, him as leader of the cause. Bonds are weakness as far as he is concerned anyone. That is a huge reason why there are not many femmes in our ranks. Not because they can't be but usually they are more interested in forming bonds and usually have a soft spark. You can't kill if you have a soft spark. You're weak. I choose not to show it, for my own self- preservation. However, I am not sparkless. Well at least not totally sparkless anyway." Knockout laughed softly at his last comment.

"You had a bond with Breakdown? Was he your spark mate?" Nightshade realized what she was doing and stopped herself. She was curious but she had boundaries. "Sorry, not my business" she said.

"Nooo," Knockout answered her. "We weren't that close. Besides despite being great with a rotary buffer and a good body guard he simply wasn't my type. I have known him for a long time. We met at the beginning of the war before we ever chose a side. I was a freelance medic working for both sides. Megatron convinced us to join up. Seems to have the best chance of winning. So I did. It gave me steady resources so I didn't have to keep scavenging. Breakdown lived for battle. Consequently he got himself shot up more times than not. I repaired or replaced every part of him at least once. So no one knew him better. So yeah, when that fragging human took him it infuriated me. I tend to take it out on everyone around me. I have to admit revenge has been most fun. Breakdown would have loved it."

They were approaching the Nemesis again." Next time It is my turn to play 20 questions, Nightshade. You get to tell me what all you have discovered studying the humans all this time, and why you are so interested in lesser life forms. It is almost like you have a bond with them. I wonder why" Knockout said with a smirk on his face plates.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Cha Cha Changes (turn INTO the strange)

**A/N: These events happen at the end of chapter 4 in A Question of Becoming. Blackhawk discusses with Nightshade the details of transforming. Nightshade is pressed for time and quickly decides on a hummer as her vehicular mode.**

"Do you have an alt. mode?" Blackhawk asked Nightshade. " A what?" she replied. "I take that as a no." Nightshade still looked confused. Blackhawk had to remind himself that Nightshade wasn't born cybertronian and this was completely new to her. However, patience wasn't his strong suit.

All Cybertronians have the ability to transform. We change from our normal forms into a vehicular form. It is faster than walking and allows us to hide. For example, you said you were in a helicopter when you were taken. It wasn't a normal helicopter, it was one of us. Some choose cars. Seekers are aerial and most of us choose the form of a jet. Lord Megatron's alt is a Cybertronian plane. He decided not to take an Earth form. You need to choose quickly. I believe I hear the Armada returning. Do you have flight capabilities?"

Nightshade was terrified of heights. She wasn't sure if she could fly but she was completely sure she didn't want to fly. "I don't think so" she answered. "That's too bad." Blackhawk told her. "There is nothing like the feeling of taking off from a high place. Freefalling for several nanocliks before your secondary systems engage, and then the moment of transformation as your wings shift into place and you can feel the wind as you soar. Seekers were created for the sky and the sky for us. We'd rather off line than be grounded."

The conversation alone was starting to make Nightshade queasy. She wasn't even going to explore the flying possibility. Blackhawk noticed Nightshade was quiet and if it were possible for her to lose her color she would have. "You look like you're about to purge your tanks. Are you okay?" "I'm glad the idea of being off the ground is good for you but just the thought of heights makes me sick." Blackhawk chuckled softly. "Okay, but you need something. It would be hard to explain you being here so long and not having an earth alt mode considering no one else is supposed to know you were ever anything but what cybertronian. " Well" she answered. "Part of my story is that I was here doing research so I need something rugged that blends in well. "

They approached the freeway and were hiding in some bushes. "When you see something suitable scan it and let's go." "Ok, How?" She asked. How? Blackhawk was getting frustrated. He didn't realize how many things that come so naturally would seem so alien to one who until a few days ago was well…an alien. "Focus on it. Do you see queries come up on your HUD? When you do you'll know it. It will ask if you want to scan it. Answer yes. You will scan it and will feel your armor shift to accommodate the new form. Then you use the same means to transform. You'll collapse into you alt form. It is natural for us as breathing is for organics. I promise. However you won't have long with vehicles driving down the freeway. So decide quickly"

Nightshade cycled her vents. She saw a hummer approaching and decided that would do. She could see the armada in the distance now and knew time was really short. She had to get this right. She did just as Blackhawk said and felt the shift. It almost threw her off balance. She hoped she wouldn't have to do it often. She didn't imagine they changed alts too often. "Great now transform real quick before we have to leave." Blackhawk told her. "You want to be experienced and used to the sensations before you transform on the Nemesis." Nightshade did and thought she would hit the ground as her frame collapsed. She drove in a few circles and then transformed again. She almost fell as she got back to her peds and her center of gravity shifted back up. "Wow. I must say driving takes on a whole new meaning when you are the car! I'm not sure I will ever get used to that" Blackhawk just laughed. It was amusing for him to see the process through her eyes. "Here they come. When I transform grab my wing and hold on. We are about to go home.

**Well there is chapter two. Yeah, it is out of order. These likely will be. I hope you enjoyed.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Spirit in the Sky

**A/N Because my serious muse hasn't been working lately I needed something to kick it into gear. So as a result I got this. It is RANDOM! It is sort of my commentary on religion. Not sure where this fits in with A Question of Becoming. Obviously at some point while she is with the Cons. If anyone has a copy of Covenant of Primus they want to get rid of I will take it off your hands! I have had the first part of it written for a month now. I just didn't like the ending. I'm still not crazy about it but here it is. For some reason I like Knock Out speaking German, it works with his accent, so…hence the phrases. I have been writing his name wrong A fact he would absolutely skewer me for. Sorry Knock Out!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers. A fact that I am sure they would be grateful for. Nightshade is mine.**

"Oh…Primus!" and "Primus help me"! Those were phrases Nightshade found herself using a lot lately. She even found herself praying "Primus, do you love me less because I'm not like every other Cybertronian? Do you love any of us? Am I even really yours?"

As a human Nightshade never would have described herself as 'religious'. She preferred to keep her focus in the natural. If she couldn't process it through her senses she didn't consider it of much value. She never judged anyone who was spiritual, after all who was she to argue with other's experiences. When her college roommate asked her about her belief in the soul Nightshade never said it didn't exist she only said that because she couldn't locate in on an anatomical chart she really didn't care to bother with it. Nightshade was by no means atheist either. She didn't think there were that many people who truly were. She constantly heard people who claimed to be atheists 'praying' when things went badly so in her mind they were the confused ones, not the eccentric religious people. At least the eccentrics were consistently eccentric.

If anyone asked Nightshade she would have told them she considered herself to be agnostic. She was unsure why after she became Cybertronian she was so interested in mythology and the existence of a deity that was interested in or involved with its creation. She guessed it came after she discovered in one of the databanks the way that Earth was connected to Cybertron. Earth was the body of Primus's evil brother? What she thought was simply magma was dark energon or Unicron's blood! Cybertron was in essence Primus himself? They fought constantly, and that was a large part of why the Cybertronians were created. She had to admit this was one of the most interesting creation stories she ever heard. If it were true Primus had to be directly involved. If she understood the factions correctly the leaders were 'brothers' too. She would figure it out soon enough she guessed. Like all religions the Cybertronian's was shrouded with mystery and things that seemingly contradicted themselves.

Nightshade was contemplating all this when she received a comm message from Knock Out. "_NIghshade, Mien Liebling, what are you doing? I feel like letting off some energy. I want to race, might as well while we are out 'scouting' again"_

_"Ok sure," _she responded. _I've been reading and contemplating the humans again but this time from a different angle. I need to clear my processor. I'm all for it. Are you going to race fairly this time?"_

Knock Out was in beside her before she could finish. He had hoped to get insight into why she was so interested in the humans. He was going to be surprised. Nightshade was thinking outside of her element the last few days.

"So care to tell me what you have been thinking about lately, Mein Schatz? Why the obsession with humans?" Knock Out asked.

"To be such simple creatures, basically water bags supported on calcium struts with a few traces of iron, potassium, sodium and other random elements, they are quite complex." She answered. "I am referring to their belief systems. They are extremely superstitious, even though most of them claim to be enlightened and beyond the need for faith. They claim to look for natural reasons behind things fight wars over different beliefs and make fun of those who believe anything, yet turn and call very natural things 'acts of God' after claiming they don't believe in such a being. There are so many different beliefs yet each individual is so sure he alone is right. They kill and die for this. It is absurd. I know it is far out of my element but it is interesting. "

This was the last thing Knock Out expected and he wasn't sure how to respond. He went along with it. "Each culture has its own set of rules, Nightshade. What is acceptable varies. Views of life and even," he paused, "beauty differs. Though I agree it is better to struggle for power or at least something tangible rather than something that may or may not be. I follow this planet's isocracies too. I want to know what we are conquering. They have innovative ideas. Ever watched a horror movie? Sorry I am getting off track" We do even. Our religion centers around power struggles. We make it relate to where we are at that point in time. "

Nightshade hadn't considered that. "You're right. I have just recently come to the conclusion that there may be some truth to all of it. You don't fear death if you believe we will all be one in the Well do you? You don't fear it if you believe you're immortal. Perhaps that is not a weakness but a strength. Fear is a weapon. If you don't have it, obviously the enemy cant use it against you so we tell ourselves this to keep up the power struggle. At least at the end of it though Primus is fair. He wont favor one Cybertronian over the other I guess. "

"Don't be afraid schone dame. We are winning and we will be around a while. We are far enough away from Starscream and Lord Megatron. Lets race. I'll try not to run you off the road." Knock Out laughed as he transformed and kicked up dust behind him.

**A/N End of Crack…for now Maybe I wont go so long between chapters from now on. I already have several ideas running around in my head. "Savin' Me" ,"Cat's in the Cradle", "Separate Ways", "Life in the Fast Lane", "If You Want it to be Good Girl…Get Yourself a Bad Boy", "Angel", and "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" are future chapters. (just kidding about the last three but yeah. Thanks.) **

**Knock Out calls Nightshade My Love and My Darling and beautiful lady because I have been reading some well written but sappy Knock Out love stories. It stuck. Sorry **


End file.
